Do Cats and Boats Mix?

It's taken me a week to write this post. 1) Because I'm still freaked out about what happened. 2) Because I'm still trying to convince myself that I'm not a bad cat parent.

One week ago, Tigger fell in the water at the dock. We don't know exactly what happened because we didn't see it, but we think he sneaked through an area that wasn't zipped all the way and ended up on the swim platform. From there, he probably just stepped right off into the water. Seems crazy, I know, but really why would he have any concept of the fact that he would be surrounded by water? He's lived on land his entire life. I did research the day after it happened and this is not uncommon.

(People have asked us if we ever brought the cats on the boat with us before buying this boat. While that seems like a fun idea - just think about the preparation needed for that. It's not like bringing a dog on a boat. Not only do you need food for the cat but also a litter box which is a whole other story.)

Let me back up and say that we thought we had done everything possible to prevent the cats from falling in. There was one area of the boat that was a problem and gave the cats access to trouble:

This is our "front door."

We proceeded to create a pretty good barrier to the opening (it is held down with strong Velcro):

Like I said, I think we left one of the zippers up just enough for him to climb through. We do regular, short interval cat checks whenever they are outside of the cabin. We went looking for Tigger and couldn't find him anywhere. Doug stepped onto the dock, called his name, and heard Tigger cry. My heart stopped once I realized that my poor baby was in the water.

We found him under the dock. Doug saw his face briefly but I only saw his paw reach around the floating dock supports. We couldn't get to him until we unscrewed three dock boards. His head was dry but the rest of him was soaked. Any of you who know Baltimore Harbor water will understand when I say that I immediately brought him into a shower. Doug then showered him again using shampoo.

This also happened to a previous boat neighbor of ours. They found their cat two days later on a board underneath the floating dock. I'm still cursing myself for the fact that it happened but I'm grateful that we found him so quickly. I could never have slept knowing that my baby was out there somewhere.

He's been fine all week and (hopefully) he has learned his lesson. I'm thinking about putting both cats in life jackets and dumping their paws in the water on a nice day so that they both learn quickly. I know this was inevitable but I really didn't think it would happen within a week of moving in. Tigger has lost one of his nine lives thanks to his curiosity.

In other cat news, we took them out for their first cruise this weekend. This time they both wore their life jackets. The sound of the blower freaked them out a bit. (For non-boating readers, the blower moves air through the engine compartment so fumes from the fuel are quickly dissipated.) The sound of the engines freaked them out even more. I sat with them in the cabin while Doug started everything and tried my best to calm them. They stuck close by me and I kept petting them to reassure them.

I had to leave them in the cabin to help get the boat out of the slip. Once safely away from the dock, they were allowed to explore. Their curiosity was a blessing this time as they both joined us at the helm for the ride.

We only took a short ride to the Key Bridge and anchored for about an hour. All in all, a good trip. I'm confident they will be okay for our Memorial Day trip. One small problem, Latte, the little stinker, managed to wiggle out of her life jacket twice. Cat life jackets are a little difficult because they are sized correctly when they seem to be too tight. But, if you've ever seen a wet cat you know how much body mass they "lose" when wet and it all makes sense.

They have since both recovered from the trip and are fully enjoying their life in the sun:

We do keep them in the cabin (with lots of awesome, closed windows) when we aren't around so there is no worry about either of them falling in when we aren't there.

Any tips on keeping them from traveling to other boats when we are rafted up (other than keeping them fully enclosed)?

Living the Dream

We picked up Luv'n Life IV on Saturday morning and moved her to our new home. While we aren't completely unpacked, we no longer have to climb over boxes and can see a majority of the floor. I'm also proud to report that I have a little bit of extra room and may be able to purchase a few new items of clothing.

Here are some views from my new home:

The Raw Barge restaurant should be opening at the marina sometime this summer.

 

The kitties are adjusting well to their new home. They don't seem to notice the slight rocking motion. They haven't been anywhere near the water yet so life jackets haven't been required. 

We celebrated with a home-cooked (boat-cooked?) meal Saturday night including a 2003 bottle of wine that we purchased in Italy in 2008.

One fun note about the new boat -- the "hourglass" refresh symbol on our GPS makes it look like there is a hurricane up ahead.



Galleys and Goodbyes

To start with the second part of this post's title, we (hopefully) said goodbye to our Regal 3760 today. She is on the market and we brought her to the Bay Bridge Marina for the Bay Bridge Boat Show this weekend (anybody want a boat?). With any luck, she will sell quickly. Today was bittersweet as she has been a great boat. Mother Nature knew we needed one last good ride and she gave us a warm, sunny day with few waves and we were able to send her off with a good bath.

As many of you know, our boats have been named Luv'n Life and we've always had Regals (hence the reason for the blog name). A friend recently asked if I was going to change my blog site now that we own a Carver. To answer simply -- no. I'm just redefining "Regal" to mean a way of life.

Now on to galleys... For my non-boating followers, a galley is a kitchen on a boat. Our beautiful Carver is still out of the water while the shipyard waits on trim tab struts. So, while we weren't able to move onto her yet, I was able to spend some good time arranging my new galley. Keep in mind that I've gone from this...

To this...

 

Before moving out of our house, I sold and donated a lot of kitchen stuff. Have you ever looked in the back of your kitchen cabinets? How many baking pans do you have that you've never used? I also put my china and crystal in storage a) because there isn't room and b) because highly breakable items like that do not belong on a boat (with the exception of two crystal champagne flutes that will be very carefully stored for special occasions). I am happy to report that I found room for everything! And there is still space left for food.

There is one part of my galley that has me a little concerned. How on earth do I fit everything I need in this refrigerator and freezer? Tips/thoughts/ideas are greatly appreciated!!

The previous owners of the boat left behind many kitchen items and I had fun deciding what to keep. While totally cheesy, these plates may be fun for deserts:

So, yes, I kept the fish plates. They also left behind regular plates, bowls, and glasses so I don't have to go shopping anytime soon.

Since she is out of the water, I was able to take a fun picture today.

Our 2002 Ford Explorer next to our 2003 Carver 466.

Before any of you say "Wow! Your boat is huge!!!" please take a picture of your vehicle next to your house. :)

We Did It!

We sold our house and bought a boat big enough to live on (most of the year). Check her out:

Carver 466

We picked her up on Saturday in Kent Narrows and brought her to Baltimore. My husband is a fantastic captain and he navigated the Kent Narrows Drawbridge like a pro. This is the first time we've had to request that a drawbridge be raised for us.

After successfully navigating the channel out into the Bay we celebrated with mimosas:

And I took over the helm for a bit:

Many thanks to our boating friends, James and Sandra, for joining us on her maiden voyage.

We'll be moving onto her next weekend and I'll be sure to post pictures once we figure out where to put everything we own. In the meantime, enjoy these pictures of our cats who haven't been to the boat yet but have already modeled their new attire:

Tigger

Latte

Time to Move

We moved our boat to BMC-Harborview last night. It was cold. It was windy. But sometimes these things just have to happen at a particular time.

I went by the old marina today to clean out the dock box. Our slip looks so lonely.

Anchorage Marina - Thanks for 6 great years. We made wonderful friends on E Dock and we look forward to seeing them out on the Bay.

One of the best things about a boat is the fact that you can move it so easily. Doug and I have been boating together since 2000 and Harborview will be our fourth marina together. Sometimes we moved marinas because we moved houses. Sometimes we moved marinas to try out something new. Here's where we've been throughout the years:

*BMC-Inner Harbor -- This marina is right in the heart of Baltimore's tourist center. You have one of the best views of the July 4th fireworks and Camden Yards is a hop, skip, and a jump away (well, maybe a few jumps).

*Herrington Harbour South -- This is truly a resort marina. There's a great big pool, a beach, and a tiki bar. It's also known for being very eco-friendly.

*Anchorage Marina -- Nestled nicely in the Canton neighborhood, this marina was less than a mile from our rowhouse. We enjoyed the floating pool a few times and had many fantastic days and nights with our boat neighbors.

*BMC- Harborview -- Our new home! We look forward to exploring this side of Baltimore. Pictures and stories are soon to come.

On Boaters

Boaters are some of the nicest people. Maybe it’s the carefree Jimmy Buffett lifestyle on the weekends that makes them nice. Maybe the rocking of the boat turns on the nice switch in their brains. Whatever it is, they are, on a whole, a kind and welcoming group.

 

Doug and I are switching marinas – more on that in an upcoming post – and I was spending time at the café at the new marina today. While there, I overheard a few people talk about a group going to Little Havana, a local bar/restaurant, each week. After hearing it from two different conversations, I apologized for being nosy and asked about it. Before I knew it, Doug and I were invited to join everyone this evening and I had two new Facebook friends. (Coincidentally, we have frequented Little Havana in the past after Doug’s Baltimore Beach Volleyball games and we’ve been looking forward to spending more time there.)

 

After a couple hours playing shuffleboard and talking with the group, I am even more excited about our move. I have more new friends and I can’t wait to see them all again when we move our boat. Boaters really are the best.

Tybee Island

While on a short trip to Savannah, we took a drive over to Tybee Island. I never realized how much the Chesapeake Bay protects us from tide changes. Take a look at what they have to work with down there:

I don't think these boats are going anywhere anytime soon.



While not the best picture...those are the same boats in the bottom left corner. There isn't any water to be seen.

We were obviously there at low tide. It's amazing how high the boat lifts are.

Is there really water out there?

We are on a floating dock at a marina in Baltimore. We don't see too many personal floating docks like this in the Bay.